# Accident 20250222002299A: Hughes OH-6A, Santa Teresa, NM, February 22, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 22, 2025, 16:20 local time
- Place: Santa Teresa, NM
- Airport: Dona Ana County At Santa Teres
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.8744° N, 106.6920° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8744&lon=-106.6920&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4191T, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4191T) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes OH-6A (registry code 4470905, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-oh-6a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES OH-6A
- Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 10,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR25LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA101) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250222002299A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON FEBRUARY 22, 2025, AT OR AROUND 16:20 MST, A HUGHES OH-6 TAIL ROTOR STRUCK THE TAIL BOOM AND CRASHED (ACCIDENT) AT DONA ANA COUNTY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (DNA), NM, WHILE TAXIING 20 FEET OFF THE GROUND ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT, AND THE TWO CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOTS WERE NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT DONA ANA COUNTY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, NM, ON FEBRUARY 22, 2025.

THE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THE TAIL ROTOR BLADE STOP WAS MISSING AND MOST LIKELY CAME OFF OF THE AIRCRAFT SOME TIME DURING THE FLIGHT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR25LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA101), Feb 22, 2025: Hughes OH-6A (N4191T), Santa Teresa, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor's failure to maintain helicopter control during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing and structural damage to the tail boom and subsequent failure of the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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